Kemmer was born
Edward William Kemmerer in
Reading,
Pennsylvania, as Edward William Kemmerer, and served as a
fighter pilot with the
United States Army Air Forces during
World War II. He was shot down over France and spent 11 months in a
POW camp. He briefly escaped from the camp for two weeks before being recaptured. Kemmer made his television debut in 1951 and starred as Buzz Corry in the
live television science fiction action-drama
Space Patrol (1951-1956). Kemmer made his film debut in 1956 (
Behind the High Wall). He had a starring role as a pilot in the film
The Hot Angel (1958), but his big-screen work was mostly small roles in low-budget
B movies such as
Giant from the Unknown (1958). The bulk of Kemmer's work was for the small screen. After
Space Patrol, Kemmer was a guest star in various prime-time television series, including the classic
Twilight Zone episode "
Nightmare at 20,000 Feet", in which former space hero Kemmer co-starred with future space hero
William Shatner. He also made two guest appearances on
Perry Mason. In 1960 he played Roger Porter in "The Case of the Frantic Flyer," and in 1961 he played murder victim Leslie Hall in "The Case of the Pathetic Patient." In 1964 he played a major part in ”The Impostor”, a tense Sutton Roley-directed episode of
Combat! (S3, E10). Kemmer starred for two years as an American
astronaut in the
soap opera The Clear Horizon, leading to the later phase of his career as a leading player in various daytime drama series, including
The Edge of Night (on which he met his wife, actress Fran Sharon) as Malcolm Thomas,
The Secret Storm as Paul Britton #2,
As the World Turns as attorney Dick Martin, and
Somerset as attorney Ben Grant. He also made appearances as a doctor on
All My Children. In 1962, Kemmer was cast as the historical investigative journalist
Henry Morton Stanley in the episode, "The Truth Teller," on the
syndicated television Anthology series,
Death Valley Days, hosted by
Stanley Andrews. The episode is a study of the
Medicine Lodge Indian Peace Treaty. Stanley arrives at
Fort Larned, Kansas, to assess Hancock's effort to avoid war on the frontier. Charles Carlson filled the role of
Wild Bill Hickok, long after
Guy Madison played Hickok in a weekly syndicated series. ==Personal life==